Legislators will be back in Springfield this week for a pension reform debate and vote.

What they won’t talk about or do anything about, we can be sure, is the state’s backlog of unpaid bills.

It’s rising again, as our Deadbeat Illinois series reported last Monday, and it should end the year at $9 billion owed to vendors, businesses, nonprofits and more.

That’s money kept out of Illinois’ economy — money that could go to hire workers and help people.

This isn’t a new problem. It’s an ignored problem in Illinois, which essentially is “treading water” in dealing with it, according to the state comptroller’s office.

We started a weekly series last January, reporting on the impact of this across the state. Each Monday you read about it.

In late spring, after a strong tax season, there was some improvement, and even recently some agency leaders have told us the backlog isn’t as bad in recent months.

But it’s now back up at $8.8 billion and projected by the comptroller’s office to be $9 billion at year’s end, exactly where it was last year. So if “treading water” is good enough, you’re in the right place.

It’s been fascinating that there hasn’t been a champion for this in the legislature or the administration, as the backlogs continue.

The placement of the Deadbeat Illinois story on the front page along with the idea that Statehouse statues might move to a Memorial Row caught readers’ attention last Monday.

“Is there anyone in the state government with any good sense, or a conscience?” wrote Rhea Bartlett in a letter to the editor.

“Why would you want to spend money to move statues into a row like a firing squad when they have been perfectly content on the grounds for 100 years?” she wrote. “In my family, when the checkbook is low you don’t plan to re-landscape the yard and move the statuary.”

No family can get away with what Illinois is doing, and it’s about time the state’s elected leaders do something about it.

A lot of candidates stood in line last week to file for the next election. We’ll certainly ask them about unpaid bills in our candidate endorsement interviews. It would be nice to see them take a stand and commit to ending this practice in 2014.

How about it? The end of Deadbeat Illinois for good?

New look at sj-r.com

Our website took on its long-awaited new look last week and we hope you like some of the improvements, starting with speed and a better navigation of content at the top of the home page.

There’s also a more reader-friendly carousel of top stories each day, a better presentation for photos and videos and top visibility for breaking news that draws readers who visit for updates.

Our mobile traffic has been soaring, and this change brings great advances to our mobile site, m.sj-r.com. You’ll notice it on your phone as you can take a look at photos and play video.

Many readers no doubt noticed these changes over the Thanksgiving weekend, as they followed the state football playoff action or checked in from out of town.

Any change takes time to get used to, and we suggest making your way around www.sj-r.com.

We’re fixing links that don’t work and restoring some content sections that were missed in the changeover. Our databases, including Most Wanted, made the move with no problems.

The holidays are for giving, and we have a gift for our top subscribers this season.

The SJ-R Dining Club Card has debuted and is being sent to subscribers who receive at least four days of home delivery per week, pay at least six months ahead on their subscription or are enrolled in our EZ pay program.

The card allows you to order two-for-one lunches and dinners at many top restaurants for the next year. Just visit www.sjrdiningclub.com for a list of restaurants and more information.

The card is being sent with a letter outlining some content initiatives for 2014.

Interested in a card? Contact our circulation department at 788-1440 or sign up for a subscription online. The cards also are on sale on sale at Qik-n-EZ locations for $25. They might make great gifts.

Speaking of gifts, visit The State Journal-Register’s Facebook page today for the start of a 20 days of December giveaway contest. You might win a gift for yourself or a friend in this social media contest.

Look for a new gift — a book, Dining Club card, gas card, poster and more — offered every day on the Facebook page. Enjoy it.

Thanks for reading us, and let me know what you think about anything in The State Journal- Register or www.sj-r.com.

Executive Editor Bob Heisse can be reached at 788-1505 or bob.heisse@sj-r.com. Read his “From the Editor” blog.

Correction: A previous version of this column had the incorrect web address for the new SJ-R Dining Club site. The site is at http://sjrdiningclub.com.